Buffalo Sabres’ Chad Ruhwedel (left), Christian Ehrhoff and goalie Matt Hackett try to get out of the way as Vancouver Canucks’ Ryan Stanton is checked into their bench by Nicolas Deslauriers.DARRYL DYCK
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

Tyler Ennis #63 of the Buffalo Sabres is tangled up with Brad Richardson #15 of the Vancouver Canucks.Rich Lam
/ Getty Images

Kassian got all the attention, and deservedly so, after earning the first assist on all four Vancouver goals.

“He had a heck of a night,” Matthias said of Kassian.

Almost lost, however, was the fact that Matthias also had a pretty good night. His goal and two assists matched a career high for Matthias, who was acquired in the deal earlier this month that sent goalie Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers.

“I have played some wing so it wasn’t something that was brand new to me,” said Matthias, who played almost as much wing as centre for the Panthers in recent times. “It was nice to play with those two guys, especially with Kass, as hot as he was.”

Matthias’s versatility could be valuable for the Canucks. There’s a chance he could in fact be a better fit on the wing than at centre for Vancouver.

The hope is that Bo Horvat, selected ninth overall last summer by the Canucks, might be ready to play third-line centre for Vancouver next season. And with Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler and Richardson all under contract next season, it’s difficult to see where Matthias fits down the middle.

Even if Kesler happens to get traded this summer, it is likely the Canucks would want a No. 2 centre coming this way in return.

Matthias actually began Sunday night’s game skating on the fourth line, but coach John Tortorella quickly moved him up to the third line with Richardson and Kassian.

“I just don’t want to get Shawn locked in (on the fourth line) because as we continue re-tooling this team I think he is going to be a big part of it and I don’t want to be getting him in the five- six-minute (range) right now as far as ice time,” Tortorella said. “I want to keep playing him and see what he is. Plus we need to see what he looks like on wing just because of the utility and we want to see what he can bring.

“He can play right wing, he can play all three positions. That is very important for me is the utility part of it … he’s a big body and he is going to have to be able to do a lot of those things in different positions.”

Matthias, who has five points in nine games as a Canuck, is trying to not think about what position he might end up playing next season.

“I’m not really looking into the future that far ahead,” he said. “Next year is next year and right now there are nine more games and I just want to play hard each game and try and help this team win.”

Matthias welcomes the fresh start he is getting with the Canucks. The Panthers, who are in full rebuild mode, seemed to have soured on him and Matthias felt like he needed a change.

“I was there for a long time and I did enjoy my time there, but it was time for a change, I guess,” he said. “That’s how they felt and they moved me here and I have enjoyed it ever since.”

Matthias has averaged 17:25 of ice time in his nine games with the Canucks. He’d been averaging only 12:13 in what was his fifth full season with the Panthers.

“Florida was in a rebuild and have so many promising young players that are going to be standouts and they are going to be a good team in a few years with those guys,” he said. “But I guess I wasn’t part of the rebuild. I am happy to be here.”

Kassian, for one, is happy to have Matthias as a teammate. The two played against one another in junior when Kassian was in his first year with the Peterborough Petes and Matthias was in his last season with the Belleville Bulls.

“We had some good battles in the playoffs,” Kassian said. “He’s a big guy that can skate and as you saw (Sunday night) he can shoot the puck. Whenever you get to play with a guy like that it’s nice and hopefully we can build some more chemistry.”

Matthias has had to make adjustments since being traded to Vancouver. Tortorella’s system is a new one for him, so he has watched lots of video the past couple of weeks. He also has to get used to playing in a full arena.

“Canadians are passionate about hockey, which is nice,” he said. “Florida had some good fans there, too, but it’s pretty special being a Canadian kid playing in Canada.”

Matthias has already been stopped in the street by Canucks fans, something he said almost never happened in Florida.

“I think it’s happened more already in these two weeks than it did in Florida,” he said. “They love their Canucks here. It’s pretty cool.”

ICE CHIPS: The Canucks had the day off Monday and are scheduled to practise on Tuesday before flying to Minnesota for Wednesday night’s game against the Wild (4:30 p.m., Sportsnet Pacific, Team 1040). They close out a quick two-game road trip Thursday night in Colorado.

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